Shujaa are seeking to improve their setpiece ahead of the 2022-2023 World Seven Series set for November in Hong Kong.
Team manager, Eric Ogweno, said the lineout and kickoff were the two major concerns from the just concluded Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament which ended in Cape Town, South Africa.
Shujaa will resume training on Thursday ahead of the Safari Sevens next month and the Hong Kong Sevens in November. Ogweno said the lineout and setpieces are the two areas the team need to focus on.
“We had challenges in those two key areas not only at the World Cup but across the season. The two are key facets of play and dictate the team's performance in any match," added Ogweno.
He said the 40 players named by the selectors during the national Sevens circuit will join the team training next week.
“The talent at the Sevens circuit was immense. We have a lot of talent in the country that needs to be harnessed," he said.
Ogweno said there was an improvement in the basic skills set of the players in the team since Englishman Damian McGrath was appointed in May.
“The team is now very comfortable with the ball in hand and they now look sharper in both attack and defence. We can only get better ahead of the season starting in November,” said Ogweno.
Though the Safari Sevens dates are yet to be communicated by the union, Ogweno said it will be a good build-up for Hong Kong.
“We are going to train with the tournament in mind and for the players and us it will be good to test the players the players and see who makes the cut for the team to Hong Kong" noted Ogweno
The 2022 -2023 season will be an Olympic qualification year and Ogweno is optimistic Shujaa can qualify as one of the four automatic teams.
“With everyone pulling in the same direction and the right preparations, It is possible to emerge as one of the top four teams come next season.
